Otherwise known as bonxies are scarily large, and very aggressive when their nests are threatened, as we discovered when we headed up to the high point of Anchorage Island.
At this point the birds dive bombed us in earnest. At first there would be the swoop of wings just above the head, then they got bolder and we got whacked hard with their wings, and one point I was literally slapped across the face. Birds would come in low, aim at the head, bank and rise and come in again; several at a time and making a yowling noise like a dog.
In Scotland they tie a stick up above their heads and the birds go for that. A good idea because what we experienced was straight out of Hitchcock's 'The Birds'!
However it has to be said that a wing is a soft thing and it would have been worse to have been raked with beaks or feet. We survived and headed back to the boat with the prized shrimps. Then back across the bay for lunch. Minke whales were spotted off the peer not long after we landed.
1 comment:
Hi Chris I was thinking about you being in this amazing environment and so found your blog. Sounds scary with those birds, reminds me of being dive-bombed by enormous birds of prey in Africa when trying to eat sandwiches in a reserve. We thought at one stage they might even take the 3 month old baby we had with us!
It must be incredible to be in that landscape. I look forward to reading more.
Happy New Year, Love Fiona ( Higham)
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